Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.
Status Updates
The Wheel of Time (Prime Video, Status: Renewal Possible): We have not seen viewership numbers for this show’s third season yet, and it will still be a couple of weeks seeing as Nielsen is on about a two-month lag with its Streaming Rankings. The numbers have been good across its first two seasons, but it is unclear if that will be enough to get the show the eight-season run currently planned by its showrunner. The Wheel of Time is an expensive show to make, and the streaming services have tended to cap off their originals around the third or fourth season mark. Some high-profile entries like Stranger Things, The Boys, The Handmaid’s Tale, and For All Mankind have made it to five seasons or more, but few streaming originals have made it to eight seasons (watch for an upcoming post looking at that in more detail). The Wheel of Time novels deliver a sprawling saga that covers fourteen books, so this was an ambitious project to start with. If viewership remains strong, I do see the show getting to perhaps six seasons, but the eight that are currently planned seems like a stretch.
Paradise (Hulu, Status: Renewed): This show continued to hold in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the fifth week of its first season, placing at the Number 8 slot with an estimated 566 million minutes of viewing. Creator Dan Fogelman has three seasons planned for the show, and it certainly is on track for that based on the current viewership. It has already been renewed for a second season, and if the numbers remain strong when it returns, it should get the greenlight for a third year. You can read my review of the show at this link.
Castlevania: Nocturne (Netflix, Status: Renewal Possible): This horror/fantasy series made it into the Netflix Top 10 for two weeks, which is good for an animated entry but it was not enough to get it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings which track a broader selection of services. The showrunners do have plans for a third season of the show, but they say that it is up to Netflix and the viewership at this point. Fans should certainly make some noise for this one on the social networks if they want it to continue beyond its second season.
You can keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch Page.
Cancellation/Renewal Score:
There were no renewal or cancellation announcements over the last week so the score remains the same for the 2024-25 season with 25 renewed sci fi and fantasy entries (51% of shows tracked) vs. 13 cancelled and ending (27%). Below are this season’s numbers, and you can see the list of shows and keep up with the score for the current and prior seasons throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
| Show Count | 49 | ||
| Cancelled | 5 | 10.2% | |
| Ending | 8 | 16.3% | 26.5% |
| Renewed | 25 | 51.0% | |
| On the Bubble | 1 | 2.0% | |
| Renewal Possible | 10 | 20.4% | |
| Mini-Series | 4 |
Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow us on social media for breaking news and updates: Twitter | Facebook | Mastodon | Blue Sky.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
